Ben O'Connor paying no heed to hype talk about Cork this season

It would take an unlikely series of events for Ben O’Connor’s first year as Cork senior hurling manager not to involve a Munster SHC final.

With three wins from three, the only way that the Rebels would not be involved is if Clare and Limerick were to win both of their remaining matches – including the Banner County’s trip to Cork – and effect enough of a scoring-difference turnaround.

Naturally, Cork’s progress will invite external accusations of hype building but O’Connor maintains that, within the camp, there are no such issues.

“There's no hype with us,” he said.

The boys will enjoy that just because we're after winning a Munster championship match, but we'll be back on the field on Wednesday night and will be driving on for Clare.

“So, there's no hype inside in our camp anyway – there might be hype someplace else out around the place, but no, we've only one thing on our mind, and that's Clare Sunday week now again.”

On Saturday at Azzurri Walsh Park in Waterford, Brian Hayes was Cork’s man of the match as he scored seven points from play.

O’Connor feels that the other aspects of the attacker’s play are just as worthy of praise.

“It has been thrown at Brian before that he doesn't work hard enough,” he said.

“If he doesn't work hard enough, I don't know how what forward in the country is working hard enough because that’s the third day this year that he's run himself into the ground.

Take scores out of it altogether, he's one of the hardest-working players that we have. 

"That's Alan Connolly as well, he was taken off with cramp, and William Buckley. That's what's expected in our group, that you work hard. We know we've good hurlers, but we want everyone working hard. That's the minimum requirement.”

Injury-wise, Cork fans may have had concerns when Eoin Downey came off in the second half, given that Ciarán Joyce is out for the season and Downey’s brother Robert is also likely to miss the Clare match on Sunday week. Thankfully, O’Connor allayed fears.

"No, he was sick during the week,” he said.

“He was sick during the week, so he was just a bit drained energy-wise. Thankfully, no knock, he just picked up a bug during the week. He hadn't trained, and it was just precautionary more than anything else that he wouldn't pull a muscle as the game went on.”